Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Aug 12, 2012 1:51 pm hi all, just wanted to ask for some advice my block of land is facing North and im in the process of designing the house plans so i put the bedrooms and shower on the east side ? and the living area like kitchen,dinning, rumpus and cinema room on the west ? or should i swap it around ? thanks for the help Re: block of land facing north ? 2Aug 12, 2012 8:42 pm Hi, Congratulations for putting some thought into placing your house correctly. Most people find the house they want and fit it on the block of land rather than designing the house for the block of land. Check out the government site on their take on things. Have to find the link. Here are my take on things: Firstly find out where your prevailing winds are coming from, so you can place your windows correctly. Keep your house narrow for the cross breezes. I like the master bedroom facing east as I like to wake up when the sun comes up; the sun usually doesn’t hang around for too long. The house should be narrow on the western side with plenty of wall insulation and small windows to keep the hot sun away however I am building a house myself and have decided to put two large sliding doors in the western side of the house to harvest the western sun in winter. This means I have to put in extra sun protection solutions for summer. I see many houses that have verandas’ on the northern side of the house; what a waste of winter sun access. Wet areas are supposed to go to the south side of the house because no sun enters that part of the house The rooms you spend most of the time in should face north. If your design is two storeys you should be able to face all bedrooms and main living areas north; it would be difficult to do that with a single storey unless you have lots of land available. Cheers PS Re: block of land facing north ? 4Aug 12, 2012 8:48 pm mr_chook hi all, just wanted to ask for some advice my block of land is facing North and im in the process of designing the house plans so i put the bedrooms and shower on the east side ? and the living area like kitchen,dinning, rumpus and cinema room on the west ? or should i swap it around ? thanks for the help As a basic guide and a few things I learnt along the way - Ideally you want your Non living areas on the West side with minimal or No glass. So that would be - Laundry, Bathrooms, Garage, as the Western side of a house gets very hot in Summer. To the North you want your main living areas (With lots of glass to catch the Winter sun. So that would be Dining, Living Rumpus etc. This will be the best side to get natural light and warmth into the house particularly in Winter when the Sun is low on the Horizon To the South its good to have Bedrooms or your Cinema room as these are not used during the day so dont need a lot of natural light. Also good in summer as it is the coolest side of the house. East is Ok for Bedrooms but can also get warm / hot especially on harsh summers days (Depending where you live) . Again best for utility rooms if you can but if not better to put things here than on the West side. Hopefully that helps and gives you a few things to think about. https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=44762 My Owner builder journey extending a 1930's Bungalow Re: block of land facing north ? 5Aug 12, 2012 9:12 pm Mr_Chook-as you have posted numerous times on this topic I shall be locking a few of the threads you have started. Answers and discussions on this topic for Mr_Chook can be posted here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58708&p=906171#p906171 Also comments can be made on the threads relating to Passive Solar Design viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55057&p=906202#p906202 and/or Custom Home Design viewtopic.php?f=31&t=33027&p=906194#p906194 Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 18192 It might be a bit darker in the mornings but the light is still light, so you should be getting it. Similar to what you see from your western windows 3 19978 |